2024 UNESCO Digital Learning Week: Navigating the digital and green transitions

The final day of the 2024 UNESCO Digital Learning Week brought a crucial focus to the forefront: aligning our digital transformation efforts with the urgent need for environmental sustainability. In a session titled "Pathways to sustainable futures: Navigating digital and greening transitions," Ms. Jun Morohashi, Chief of UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development Section, highlighted the complex and essential questions we must address.

Ms Jun Morohashi (Chief, Education for Sustainable Development Section, UNESCO) introduced the plenary session on 'Pathways to sustainable futures: Navigating digital and greening transitions'. She highlighted the key areas and questions.

1. POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR GREENING EDUCATION

1. How can ubiquitous technologies be key levers in delivering a holistic, engaging and accurate content on greening education?
2. How can digital tools (including AI and algorithm) be designed to identify and counteract misinformation on climate change to ensure that content on climate change is accurate and scientifically sound?
3. How can we ensure that different systems of knowledge, including local and indigenous knowledge, be included in those digital tools?

2. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR GREEN SKILLS, GREEN JOBS, AND YOUTH CLIMATE ACTION

1. How can emerging technologies (e.g., AI, big data, and the Internet of Things) drive the creation of green jobs?
2. What skills are essential for the workforce to thrive in these emerging sectors
3. How can youth innovatively use digital platforms to advocate for climate change in a more effective and impactful manner?

3. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION

We need a technology that is scalable, sustainable, relevant, equitable.

1. What are the key environmental impacts of data centres, cloud computing, and other digital infrastructure in terms of carbon emissions?
2. How can innovators measure and mitigate the environmental impact of their technologies?

▶️ More information: https://www.unesco.org/en/sustainable-development/education/greening-future